Mont Avic

Mont Avic rises to 3,006 metres, between the Champdepraz and Champorcher valleys, in the lower Aosta Valley. It is not the highest summit in the area: nearby Mont Glacier is taller. But it is the most recognisable. Its dark, slender point can be picked out from far away, and it gave its name to the Mont Avic nature park.

A mountain of serpentine

Mont Avic is carved out of serpentinite, a dark green, almost black rock. It breaks into sharp ridges and produces poor soils where few plants take hold. It is this rock that gives the summit its needle-like shape.

A park of lakes and forests

The Mont Avic nature park was created in 1989, in the municipality of Champdepraz. It was extended towards Champorcher in 2003, then towards Fénis in 2023. Today it covers about 7,300 hectares, between 1,000 and more than 3,100 metres.

It has many lakes and wetlands, and large forests of mountain pine, the park’s emblematic tree. The Covarey visitor centre, in Champdepraz, presents these habitats with a scale model of the park and a small museum.

Lac Blanc and the Barbustel hut

The Barbustel hut, at 2,200 metres, is surrounded by four lakes: Blanc, Noir, Cornu and Vallette. From its terrace you can see Mont Avic and, in the distance, the Pennine Alps, from Monte Rosa to the Matterhorn. It can be reached from Champorcher in an hour and a half to two hours, or from Champdepraz in about three and a half hours.

The summit, for the experienced

The first ascent took place on 24 September 1875. It was led by the geologist Martino Baretti with two companions and three miners from Champdepraz. Today the easiest route starts from the Champdepraz valley. The paths are well marked at first, then the ground becomes steep, and the last few metres involve climbing a rock tower. It is an easy mountaineering route, to be done with a mountain guide if you are not used to such terrain.

Getting there

Barbustel hut
Lac Blanc, 2,200 m
+39 0166 510001 · montavic.it

Covarey park visitor centre
Loc. Chevrère, village of Covarey
11020 Champdepraz (AO)
+39 0125 960668 · montavic.it

Mont Avic can be seen well from the lakes around the Barbustel hut, which are within reach of good walkers. The hut reopens every year in mid-June. The summit is for mountaineers only.